International

Vin Diesel Is The Top-Grossing Actor Of 2017

12:10, Wednesday, 27 December, 2017

Superheroes and jedis might appear to rule the box office, but action stars still pack a punch: Vin Diesel is this year's top-grossing actor with $1.6 billion in global ticketing receipts, thanks largely to the mammoth success of Fate of the Furious.

The eighth installment of the Diesel-fueled Fast and the Furious franchise became the second-best performer in the series, topping $1.2 billion at the global box office. Action flick xXx: The Return of Xander Cage boosted his tally.

"The whole point [of The Fast and the Furious] was to diversify Hollywood and in some ways change the face of Hollywood," Diesel told Forbes in 2015, referring to the car saga's multicultural ensemble cast.

Diesel edges co-star Dwayne Johnson (No. 2; $1.5 billion), for whom the Fate of the Furious' $1.2 billion global gross more than made up for the embarrassment of Baywatch, which managed a paltry $178 million worldwide. The Rock's final turn for the year in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle will continue to add to his total (the movie is still in release).

Johnson once credited his box office might to two assets: "I can kick ass better than anyone on the planet," Johnson told Forbes in 2012. "And I have a decent smile."

Rounding out the top three is Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, whose movies amassed $1.4 billion worldwide. Her debut as the Amazonian warrior god in Patty Jenkins' superhero flick tallied $822 million worldwide to become the highest-grossing live-action movie ever directed by a woman. The ensemble under-performer Justice League added millions more to Gadot's score.